Once he did give her a serious thought, he must've found something special. He may have been picky rather than deprived of female society in the past: he may only have met the vacuous (like Mrs Allen but younger), the schmoozers (like Isabella), and the inscrutable (like Elinor Dashwood^**), in which case Catherine would stand apart. He's also only been eligible for about six months, since taking orders at the youngest possible age, and spent some of that time saving his sister from the solitary blues. He's also not the family's first cab off the rank: Frederick (who always wore his heart so proudly --ch25) is creating a bit of a hold-up there.